Darius Acuff Jr. and the No. 4 seed Arkansas Razorbacks are set to take on the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats in a Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday. The Razorbacks are aiming for their third win in the NCAA Tournament, already beating the No. 13 Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors and the No. 12 High Point Panthers.
Seeking their second national championship in program history, Cuff has been a big reason for the team's success. The true freshman has averaged 23.3 points (leads team), 3.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists (leads team) per game. Through 35 games, he is also shooting 48.6% from the field and 44.6% from the three-point line.
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Arkansas' success has created numerous name, image and likeness opportunities for the freshman. On Thursday, before playing Arizona, Acuff announced a new NIL partnership with Pro Standard, a luxury sportswear brand.
"On to the next one. Go shop @prostandard officially licensed merchandise on Amazon Fan Shop. #ad," Acuff wrote via an Instagram post.
Acuff capitalizing on another partnership doesn't come as a major surprise. On3 estimates his NIL valuation at $1.1 million, tied for the seventh-highest among point guards in college basketball. Outside of Pro Standard, the freshman has also revealed deals with Reebok, Sam's Club, Olipop and CVS.
Despite having three more years of eligibility, his time to take advantage of more NIL deals with the Razorbacks may be coming to an end. ESPN ranks Acuff as the No. 4 guard and No. 8 player to potentially be available in the 2026 NBA Draft.
For now, though, he is focused on taking down Arizona. Tipoff between the Razorbacks and Wildcats is 9:45 p.m. ET at the SAP Center at San Jose. ESPN's matchup predictor gives Acuff and Arkansas a 23.4% chance of winning.
